Three Men Charged With Supporting Terror Group Al-Shabaab

By Christie Smythe -
Dec 21, 2012

Three men were indicted on charges
they supported the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab, according
to a filing unsealed today in Brooklyn, New York, federal court.

The defendants, Ali Yasin Ahmed, 27, Madhi Hashi, 23, and
Mohamed Yusuf, 29, were arrested in Africa by local authorities
in August and taken into U.S. custody in November, according to
prosecutors. The men are charged with conspiracy, use of high-
powered firearms, and providing material support to a foreign
terrorist group, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that from December 2008 to August, the
men participated in weapons and explosives training and a
suicide-bomber program with associates of al-Shabaab and were
deployed in combat operations to support the group, which is
affiliated with al-Qaeda.

“We will use every tool at our disposal to combat
terrorist groups, deter terrorist activity and incapacitate
individual terrorists,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch
said today in a statement.

The three men were originally from Somalia, an attorney for
Yusuf, Ephraim Savitt, said today in a phone interview. Yusuf,
who most recently worked as a bus driver, grew up in Sweden and
is a Swedish citizen, Savitt said.

All of the conduct alleged in the government’s case took
place in Somalia and didn’t involve U.S. citizens or U.S.
institutions, he said. Yusuf is planning to fight the charges
and whether the case can be brought in a U.S. court, the lawyer
said.

“A lot of initial litigation is going to center over
jurisdictional issues,” according to Savitt.